Chapter 6 Notes from Animal Farm

Animal Farm Chapter 6

"All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work; they grudged no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them, and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings."Chapter 6, pg. 51

In August Napoleon announces there will be voluntary work on Sundays, and that any animal that doesn't do it will have their rations reduced by half - but even with these extra hours, some of the tasks around the farm are not getting done and there may not be enough food for the winter.

There is a limestone quarry on the farm, and to get stone for the windmill, all the animals drag boulders up a slope to the top of the quarry, then let them fall and break so that there are pieces small enough to use for building - this is hard work and without Boxer's strength it would be impossible.

Although there is so much hard work, the animals have as much food as they did in Jones's day, all through the summer. But there are shortages of things like nails and dog biscuits, and Napoleon announces that the farm will begin trading with neighboring farms - not for any commercial purpose, but just to get hold of necessities. Some animals are uncomfortable, especially the four young pigs that protested when Snowball was expelled, but Napoleon silences them and Squealer later goes around and convinces the animals that there was never a resolution passed to avoid trade and money, and that they must have dreamed it.

Napoleon hires a solicitor, Mr. Whymper, who comes to the farm every Monday for his orders, and although the animals hate and fear the human, they do feel proud when they see Napoleon on all fours delivering orders to Whymper on two.

Jones has given up on his farm and gone to live in another part of the county.

"The human beings did not hate Animal Farm any less now that it was prospering; indeed, they hated it more than ever."Chapter 6, pg. 56

The pigs move into the farmhouse and sleep in the beds - Clover seems to remember a commandment against this and gets Muriel to read the fourth commandment to her, but she has remembered it wrongly and it actually says that no animal should sleep in a bed with sheets. Squealer happens to be passing by with a few dogs and reassures them that the pigs have removed the sheets from the beds and sleep between blankets.

The windmill is half-finished when there is a major gale one night in November - the next morning the animals find that the windmill has been leveled. Napoleon announces that it is because Snowball has crept onto the farm during the night and destroyed it. He offers a reward of apples for Snowball's capture, and announces that they will begin rebuilding the windmill that very morning.